WARRINGTON Borough Council has been ‘forced to abandon its aggressive accounting policies’, the town’s Tories say.

The move was revealed at a meeting of the Labour-run council’s audit and corporate governance committee meeting earlier this month after its external auditors Grant Thornton ‘threatened to make a statutory recommendation regarding the issue’, according to the Conservative opposition.

And WBC has been ‘forced to climb down and adopt more prudent policies’ as a result.

Investments by the local authority in properties such as Birchwood Park and businesses including Together Energy have long been a contentious issue among critics of the Town Hall.

Related adjustments will allegedly affect the council’s 2017 to 2021 accounting years, with cumulative costs of around £15million up to 2020/21 and additional costs of £6million per year.

Cllr Ken Critchley said: “This huge additional cost is a direct consequence of the aggressive accounting policies that the Labour leadership of the council have pursued.

“Now even more doubt is placed on the soundness of the investment decisions made during the period between 2017 and 2021, when the true costs of the investment to the taxpayers of Warrington were being understated.

“Investments like Birchwood Park and the council’s property investment portfolio will now for the first time correctly require minimum revenue provision charges to be made against them.

“This may well make a number of these investments non-viable.

“It’s time for the Labour leadership to stop the spin and reveal the true returns from all of its investments.”

Meanwhile, Redwood Bank – in which the council has a one-third share – says it is now a profitable business.

It has pledged to ‘continue to make a discernible difference to the north west economy by continuing to invest in the region’s burgeoning business community’, having attracted more than 5,000 customers and loaned more than £400million to companies since launching in 2017.

Chief executive and co-founder Gary Wilkinson said: “Where we are from is important to us, we are a part of the community.

“Giving back to Warrington and the north west and helping strengthen the area is something we are extremely passionate about.

“We want to continue to make a discernible difference.

“For far too long there has been limited choice for British businesses when it comes to banking.

“That has changed with the arrival of new challenger banks, which can provide a more nimble and dynamic service, with tailored solutions.

“We are proud to be different and proud to provide a better quality of service to our customers.

“The bank has navigated successfully the unprecedented challenges that Covid-19 has caused, is currently performing better than was budgeted year to date and we anticipate that we will make a profit for the financial year ending December 31 2021.”